About Us

Our Mission

This confidential space is for those who are touched by abortion, whether the experience happened recently or years ago.

Abortion Changes You is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing.

Your Friends at AbortionChangesYou.com

Welcome

Thank you for visiting. I’m so glad you’re here. I especially welcome visitors who have personally experienced abortion—whether it was your own or the abortion of someone close to you. This Web site is close to my heart because I’ve been there.

Michaelene Fredenburg

When I became pregnant at 18, I had an abortion.

I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout. I thought the abortion would erase the pregnancy. I thought I could move on with my life. I was wrong.

I experienced periods of intense anger followed by periods of profound sadness. When my feelings became too difficult to deal with, I reached out for help from a trained counselor.

With counseling and the help of supportive friends, I was able to enter into a healthy grieving process.

In addition to grieving the loss of my child, I slowly became aware of how my choice to abort had impacted my family. I was surprised and saddened that my parents, my sister, and even my living children struggled to deal with the loss of a family member through abortion.

Over the years I’ve heard many heartrending stories about abortion. Although each story is unique, a common thread moves through them all—abortion changes you. Yet there is no forum to help abortion participants—and the people who are closest to them—explore this tragic truth. Although abortion has touched many of us, we rarely share our personal experiences regarding it.

This is what led me to write a book that shares some of the stories I’ve heard. There was also a need for a safe space for people to tell their stories, explore the ways abortion has impacted them, and find resources. We created AbortionChangesYou.com to fill this need.

It is my hope that this Web site will assist you as you seek to make sense of your abortion or the abortion of someone close to you.

INTRODUCTION

At AbortionChangesYou.com, your privacy is important to us because it is of the utmost importance that you respond with complete honesty when working with this Web site in order to create the most enriching and useful experience. This Privacy Policy explains what information AbortionChangesYou.com ("AbortionChangesYou.com" or "we," "us," or "our") collects on this Web site [http://www.AbortionChangesYou.com] (the "Web site"), how we use your information, and the choices you have about the way your information is collected and used. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. Your use of this Web site indicates to us that you have read and accepted our privacy practices, as outlined in this Privacy Policy.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the information we collect at AbortionChangesYou.com please feel free to contact us directly at [email protected] or you can contact Life Perspectives at (619) 516-1236 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. PST.

This Privacy Policy covers information collected on our Web site and any information collected offline by AbortionChangesYou.com or Life Perspectives.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU DO WE COLLECT?

Personally identifiable information ("PII") is information that identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you personally (such as your real name, address, phone number, or email address). Generally, you may browse our Web site without providing any PII. However, we may ask you to provide PII at various times and places on this Web site. In some cases, if you choose not to provide us with requested information, you may not be able to access all areas of this Web site or participate in all of its features. We may combine the information we collect with information available from other sources, including information received from promotional partners or other third parties.

We do not share any PII that you provide on the Web site to any third party for marketing purposes or use the PII in any way other than is set forth herein.

NOTE TO PARENTS/CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

This Web site is not directed to children and we do not collect or maintain information at our Web site from those individuals we know are under the age of 13. Any visitors under the age of 13 should not disclose or provide any PII. If we discover any PII from a child under the age of 13, we will delete this PII from our records. If we elect to begin collecting PII from children under the age of 13, we will do so in compliance with applicable privacy laws, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA").

OTHER INFORMATION WE COLLECT

User Generated Content: The user generated content (such as Explore Feelings, Explore, Tell Your Story, Post Feelings, Post Artwork, Write a Poem, Explore, and Healing pages) on this Web site can be viewed by any visitor to the Web site. While we encourage you to use the user generated content to communicate and interact with other Members ("Member" is defined as an individual who uses the user generated content on the Web site and/or submits any materials for publication on the Web site), we also advise you to use discretion in posting any information that is PII (e.g., name, address, employment) in order to ensure your privacy.

If you choose to provide an email address to contact AbortionChangesYou.com discussion boards, we encourage the use of an "anonymous" address that does not contain your name or a domain name that could reveal your identity or other PII. AbortionChangesYou.com and its owner, Life Perspectives, take no responsibility for the PII that you post on the Web site's public areas (such as Explore).

You should use discretion in posting PII in any user generated content. We cannot ensure the security of any such information given the open access of the Web site to visitors and other Members. The administrators of AbortionChangesYou.com reserve the right to remove any offensive and derogatory content found on the web site. But, we are not responsible for the actions of or content posted by the Web site's Members or visitors.

Journal Information: The information that you enter in your journal entries on AbortionChangesYou.com is confidential and will not be saved on the Web site or able to be shared with anyone, unless you grant consent providing otherwise. If we discover that any information is accidentally saved due to a technical problem, all information will be deleted.

Build Support Information: The information that you enter in your letter entries on AbortionChangesYou.com is confidential and will not be saved on the Web site or able to be shared with anyone, unless you grant consent providing otherwise. If we discover that any information is accidentally saved due to a technical problem, all information will be deleted.

Identify Losses (Letter) Information: The information that you enter in your Identify Losses (letter) entries on AbortionChangesYou.com is confidential and will not be saved on the Web site with our knowledge or able to be shared with anyone, unless you grant consent providing otherwise. If we discover that any information is accidentally saved due to a technical problem, all information will be deleted.

Tell A Friend Information: The information that you enter in the Tell a Friend service on AbortionChangesYou.com is used only for the purposes of sending an email form the sender to the specified recipient. Names, email addresses and any other PII will not be saved on the Web site, by AbortionChangesYou.com, or able to be shared with anyone, unless you grant consent providing otherwise. If we discover that any information is accidentally saved due to a technical problem, all information will be deleted.

Log Data: When you visit this Web site, our web servers automatically collect anonymous information that describes how our visitors use and navigate our Web site, which includes the number and frequency of visitors to each web page and the length of their stays, as well as the anonymous information automatically sent to us by your web browser, such as browser type, referrer data that identifies the web page visited prior and subsequent to your visit to our Web site, and IP addresses. We also may determine what technology is available through your browser in order to serve you the most appropriate version of a web page. For example, we may determine that you have installed a version of Flash, and we will then send you the appropriate Flash version of the web page rather than an HTML page.

IP Addresses: An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer or network when you are on the Internet. It is usually associated with the place from which you enter the Internet, like your Internet Service Provider, your company or your university. When visitors request pages from our Web site, our servers log the visitor's IP address. We may collect IP addresses for a variety of internal purposes, such as system administration, to report aggregate information to our advertisers, and to audit the number of visits to different pages on our Web site.

Cookies: Cookies are information files that our Web site may place on your computer to provide extended functionality. We may use cookies for a number of purposes, such as tracking usage patterns on the Web site, measuring the effectiveness of advertising, controlling the display of ads, limiting multiple responses and recording registrations. Advertisers or other third parties that are serving content on some of our pages may set and access their own cookies on your computer. We don't have control over cookies placed by third parties. Such third parties' use of cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, which may differ from this one. Such third parties do not have access to our cookies.

You can, of course, disable cookies on your computer by indicating this in the preferences or options menus in your browser. However, it is possible that some parts of our Web site will not operate correctly if you disable cookies. You should consult with your browser's provider/manufacturer if you have any questions regarding disabling cookies.

Web Beacons: While you are on our Web site, or while you are otherwise viewing our content, you may encounter Web beacons, which may come from AbortionChangesYou.com or from third parties, such as advertisers or content providers. A Web beacon, which is sometimes also called a Web bug or "clear gif," is a small graphic image in a Web page, a Web-based document or an email message, which generally allows the party that set the Web beacon to monitor certain information about the viewer of the Web page, Web-based document or email message, and may allow access to certain cookies. Web beacons are usually invisible to the user, because they are very small (generally 1-by-1 pixel). However, in general, any electronic image viewed as part of a Web page, including an advertisement, can act as a Web beacon. Web beacons typically collect the URL of the page the Web beacon comes from, the type of browser requesting the Web beacon, the IP address of the computer that the Web beacon is sent to and the time the Web beacon was viewed. We do not have control over Web beacons used by third parties and do not have access to whatever information they may collect. AbortionChangesYou.com may use Web beacons to count visitors to our Web pages and we may include Web beacons in HTML-formatted email newsletters in order to count how many of our electronic newsletters (or particular articles, links, etc.) were actually opened. We aggregate all information we collect through Web beacons and we do not use Web beacons to track any individuals' use of the Web site. Web beacons can also be linked to PII.

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS / HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We do not share any PII that you provide on the Web site to any third party for marketing purposes or use the PII in any way.

We use the PII you provide about yourself to deliver the information or content you have requested, to contact you about our programs, products, features or services or for other purposes disclosed at the time of collection. For instance, we may provide you with your request for a resource, send an email newsletter to you or send information about new services to you. If, at any point, you do not wish to receive information about our programs, products, features or services, you can remove yourself from the mailing list for newsletters and promotional materials by emailing [email protected] and request removal from all mailing lists.

Beginning January 1, 2005 under California’s "Shine the Light" law, California residents are entitled once a year to request and obtain certain information regarding our disclosure, if any, of personal information (whether collected online or offline) to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately prior calendar year (e.g. requests made in 2005 will receive information about 2004 sharing activities). To make such a disclosure request, please send an email to [email protected] or write us at:

ACY
P.O. Box 600533
San Diego, CA 92160

Please be aware that not all information sharing is covered by the "Shine the Light" disclosure requirements and only the required information will be included in our response. Indeed, because AbortionChangesYou.com does not share PII that you provide on the Web site to any third party for marketing purposes, the Shine the Light law permits us to respond to disclosure requests by informing you of that practice, and that is exactly what this section of this Privacy Policy provides.

IP Numbers, Cookies and Site Metrics

AbortionChangesYou.com collects users' IP (internet protocol) number upon entry of the Web site. Your IP number is a unique numeric code that corresponds to every host or machine that accesses the Internet. In addition, we drop a "cookie" on your PC, which is a small file that helps track aggregate information about Web site visitors and trends about Web site use. This information is used to provide you with better services and to improve the design and content of the AbortionChangesYou.com Web site. We may provide aggregate non-identifying information about general trends and Web site use to potential advertisers or other trusted third parties. However, we do not provide this information to third parties or other organizations for their individual commercial use at the present time.

Additional Uses of Information

We use non-identifying information collected on our Web site in the aggregate to better understand your use of the Web site and to enhance your experience. For example, we may use the information to improve the design and content of our Web site or to analyze the programs and services we offer. We may also share non-identifying aggregate information with third parties. For example, we may tell potential or future advertisers how many individuals visit certain areas of our Web site, or how many men or women receive our newsletter. However, other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy, we will not share your PII with outside parties unless you give us permission to do so.

We may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. For instance, we may use third parties to host message boards or other user forums, to develop software applications and databases or to send communications on our behalf. Our employees, agents and contractors who perform functions on our behalf and who have access to PII are required to protect the information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.

We may provide access to your PII when legally required to do so, such as in response to a legal subpoena, to cooperate with police investigations or other legal proceedings, to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Web site, to limit our legal liability and protect our rights or the rights, property or safety of visitors of this Web site or the public. In those instances, the information is provided only for that purpose.

AbortionChangesYou.com may also sell, transfer or otherwise disclose user information, including PII, if AbortionChangesYou.com merges with or is sold to or otherwise acquired by another company, such as through a corporate merger, consolidation, the sale of all or substantially all assets, or other fundamental corporate change.

HOW TO ACCESS OR CORRECT INFORMATION OR MODIFY YOUR CHOICES

If you are a user of our Web site you grant Abortion Changes You and Life Perspectives the rights to edit and publish all submitted materials online and otherwise. You should be aware, however, published works are unidentifiable because we do not keep any PII (unless a Member gives permission) and that it is not always possible to completely remove or modify information in our databases. In addition, please be aware that if you opt out from receiving marketing and promotional material we may still contact you regarding your use of our Web site or changes to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, or other policy or terms that affect you or your use of our Web site.

DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1998/COPYRIGHT AGENT

If you are under the good faith belief that any content appearing on the Web site has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement under US Copyright law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the "DMCA") provides recourse. You may forward the following information to AbortionChangesYou.com Copyright Agent at [email protected] (i) information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you as the complaining party, such as your name, address, telephone number, and email address at which you may be contacted; (ii) identification and description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at the Web site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works; (iii) the exact URL or identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing; (iv) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (v) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; and (vi) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. By this filing, AbortionChangesYou.com does not necessarily stipulate that it is a service provider as defined in 17 USC section 512c or elsewhere in the law, but merely seeks to preserve any and all exemptions from liability that may be available under the copyright law. If you believe in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you, the DMCA permits you to send AbortionChangesYou.com a counter-notice pursuant to the statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA, including, without limitation, a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. If we receive a proper notification (or if we believe in our sole and absolute discretion) that any materials submitted or posted by you allegedly violate another person's or entity's rights, we reserve the right to withdraw and remove the affected material from our Web site, at any time in our absolute discretion with or without notice. You can find more information about the DMCA on the U.S. Copyright Office Web site, currently located at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/. You are advised to consult a legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice. Please be forewarned that there can be penalties for false claims.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT

While on our Web site, you may encounter links to other Web sites or online materials. Those other Web sites and any online advertising servers delivering ads to our Web site may set their own cookies, collect data, and/or have their own privacy policies that differ from this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy only covers information collected by AbortionChangesYou.com, and we encourage you to review the privacy policy of any other Web site you visit.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to any personal PII you may disclose publicly in user forums (such as chat rooms, message boards, or similar web pages). When you voluntarily disclose PII on message boards, chat areas or other user forums, that information can be collected and used by other people to send unsolicited messages and marketing materials. AbortionChangesYou.com assumes no responsibility for any action or policies of any third parties who collect any information that users disclose in user forums or other public areas of our Web sites.

DATA SECURITY

We take physical, electronic and managerial steps to maintain the security and accuracy of PII we collect, including limiting the number of people who have physical access to our database servers, as well as electronic security systems and password protections that guard against unauthorized access. However, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

CONSENT TO TRANSFER

This Web site is operated in the United States. If you are located in the European Union or elsewhere outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide to us is either being collected in the United States or will be transferred to the United States. By using our Web site, participating in any of our services and/or providing us with your information, you consent to this transfer.

ACCEPTANCE

By using this Web site, you accept the policies set forth in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy, like the online medium itself, is subject to change, so visitors are encouraged to review this Privacy Policy from time to time. We may change, add or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time, and any changes will become effective immediately upon being posted unless we tell you otherwise.

This Privacy Policy was last updated and became effective on September 13, 2007.

This site is not a professional counseling site, nor is it meant to take the place of professional counseling. Sometimes an abortion experience can create intense emotions that you may not feel equipped to deal with on your own. Please use the Find Help locator to access national and local support resources. Call Samaritans at 116 123 in the Republic of Ireland and 08457 90 90 90 in the UK if you're thinking about or planning to hurt yourself.